Heat's Garrett Temple pushing to make roster

Miami Heat guard Garrett Temple is closing in on a roster spot thanks to an injury to point guard Mario Chalmers, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Temple is with his sixth NBA team in four seasons. The number grows to seven teams total if you count last year when he played in Italy.

With Chalmers sidelined with a sore quadriceps, Temple has possibly played his way into a roster spot. He's caught the eye of the coaching staff, averaging 4.5 points and 3.3 assists.

"It's unfortunate he's hurt," Temple said. "We need Mario. He needs to rest as much as possible. They can't play Norris (Cole) 48 minutes. They're just giving me a shot to show them what I can do at the point guard."

Terrel Harris is competing with Temple for a roster spot, but Temple is averaging more minutes per game this preseason.

Temple hasn't played more than 13 games for a team in one season. He was with the Spurs for 13 at the tail end of the 2009-2010 season. He played three more games for the Spurs, but was waived in November 2010. He played 12 games with the Charlotte Bobcats later in the season, averaging 3.2 points per game.

The 26-year-old has played in more games in the D-League (54) than in the NBA (51). He averaged 14.5 points per game with two teams over two seasons in the D-League.